Not to poke fun at a very serious subject (OK maybe just a little), but just for kicks I'm going to slouch way down in the drivers seat and go for a ride on the expressway. I think I'll pretty much stay in the left hand lane and go 10 miles per hour under the limit. As a matter of fact I'm going to have my right turn signal on the whole time too! Just for effect I think I'll slam the door on the seatbelt and let it spark on the pavement as I go. I'm feeling a little depressed and I know when folks pass me on the riught they'll let me know I'm "number one".

 

There is a growing trend of family members getting caught up in court when their elderly parent is involved in an accident.

The suits imply that an older person does not and will not voluntairly give up driving so it should be family members responsibility to keep watch and determine when it's time to pull the driving privledge.

I do not agree with the lawsuits. I do see that if we as the kids see our parents becomming an accident waiting to happen we should take the proper steps. Just because an older person may loose their independance is no reason to keep them on the road. Tell that to the person who has lost a family member due to an elderly persons driving ability.

A large part of the problem is the number of vehicles on the road today and the aggressive way so many people drive. Heck it scares me a lot of times the chances people take and the stupid moves they make all for the sake of "saving a few seconds"

My mother in law is 84, living with us part time and with her son the other part. She still drives but I feel it's time she gave it up, a couple of years ago would have been better. She has gotten 2 speeding tickets in school zones (didn't see the lights) backed into trees, scraped the garage, left the car running while going shopping or into a resturant to eat and when she can't find her keys, walks out to the car and there it is in the handicap parking, idling away for the last 2 hours. She gets in and tries to start an already started car. (you all know what that sounds like) When she see's something she is interested in while driving she will turn to look as she goes past and turns the wheel along with her head, of course scaring the heck out of the people next to her. I quite letting my kids ride with her a few years back when she kept running stop signs and lights.

The car she has is hers but in my brother in laws name. I've told him several times he's open game for a lawsuit but he doesn't want mom mad at him. She's has also had at least one minni stroke that we know of.

I think there are many, many, elderly drivers with the same type symtoms. I would add that as a former nationwide truck driver and almost 3 million miles driven (never had an accident an no ticket of any kind in the last 25 years) I've come across all kinds of drivers and the worst are definatly, young drivers and older drivers.

This is a very touchy and controversial subject but I don't think that a persons independence is worth the life of anyone else. Problem is I do not have an equitable solution.

 

Well, then if your Mother in law is doing all of what you say she is doing then why dont you take away her driving privileges from her and drive her around everywhere she needs to go. Its that simple right? If she is a danger to others on the road then why arent you doing anything?

 

I had an Uncle (bless his soul) whos driving was very questionable.(he was 85 yrs. old). His license came up for renewal. He wanted us to take him down so he could get it renewed. We tried to talk him out of it. The result? We made an agreement with him...if they renewed his license,(which they did) he would not drive anymore. To him, it just made him feel like he was still independent. We ended up taking him wherever he needed to go. I think that "free transportation" should be provided for the elderly...remember, We Will be the elderly some day

 

There's nothing wrong with elderly drivers who know their limitations. The problem is with those who don't. My mother won't drive when it's dark, because she knows she can't see that well at night anymore. A lot of elderly people only drive between 9:00am and 3:00pm. Then they get off of the road and let us really bad drivers take over.

 

-
and I say "Amen" to that!

 

OK, lets play multiple choice!

The group most likely to be involved in a fatal crash is:
a)25-35
b)15-24
c)85 or over

The age groups represented above have the highest accident fatality rates of all age groups studied. Of the three groups, which one is least likely to be involved in a fatal crash?







If you answered b to the first question, you'd be correct. The 15-24 yr old age group is still the most likely to be involved in a fatal crash, and by a wide margin. If you answered c for the second question, you'd also be correct. The 85+ group carries the third highest rate of incidence in a fatal crash, but they are, as a group, still safer than the 25-35 yr old drivers.

Anyone else surprised? Here's the link to the study results.

 

What about the 36 to 84 age group!

Don't we count?

You mean we don't get into accidents?

Alright! We number 1!

 

I was driving in the slow lane, and and elderly guy was next to me in the fast lane, and kept drifting into my lane at a slow rate. i was half way into the emergancy lane and he was in the middle of the road, so i slowed down and let him go on. I saw him at "steak and Shake" the food place, we were both getting food there obviously, and I this was our conversation.

Me: wow, you were in my lane pretty good there on the highway weren't ya
elder driver guy: what?
Me: yea, you were half way in my lane and your lane and I was half way in the emergency lane
elder driver guy: Oh, I guess i didnt see you
Me: oh ok, thats fine... I guess...

somehow he didnt see me and notice he was half way in my lane, but oh well, i agree for the retesting of elderly type people, some just cant see as well as others.

On the other hand I was driving my buddys 93 nissan maxima, bacause my rear end on my truck was dead, and I pulled up to an elderly guy, driving a newer caddilac with one of them northstar V-8's. I thought I'd give it a try, so I put it in neutral and revved the old 3.0 V6 pretty good. The old guy looked at me and smiled. So i immediately began laughing. the light turned green and the old guy smoked me like none other. It wasent even close. at the next light (that was when i notcied he had a northstar V8) he waved his hand in the motion of come on, then I put it in neutral, red lined it, and when the light turned green i dropped it in Drive. he smoked me again...easily.

I'll never rev my motor to elderly people with V-8's ever again.

 

When she is at my home, she does not drive. I drive her in her car where she needs to be. (she can't get in my truck)

When she is at the brother in laws, I have no control over what she does. I am only a son in law and not included in any of the decisions made between the sibs. I do voice my opinion that usually get dismissed, a lot of times with ill feelings but after dealing with the brothers for 32 years, I don't much care anymore.

This is a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation for me.

 

I've seen both young and old drivers, and those in between, use the braille system to park their vehicles.

I never done that.

 

Why do you think they invented Park Sense?

 

Well said. My mother drove until she was 85, only in daytime on back streets to church or the store. One day she pulled into her garage and announced that she would drive no more. I am not blessed with her good sense but I hope I will also know when the time is right. Since I entered geezerdom (I am 71), I don't drive as much as I used to, but that's because I am retired, not impaired. I will have to test to renew my license next year and I have absolutely no problem with that, and I anticipate no problem with the test. Bad drivers come in all ages, the older ones just have an excuse.
Dono

 

Several months ago I dropped by my parents' house. When I left, taking the back roads, I was astonished to see my grandfather going the other way in his '77 Dodge Aspen. He was in his lane and doing the speed limit, but I grabbed the cell phone and called my mom. She said he only drove in the middle of the day, and only to the bank and store a couple of miles away. (They live out in the country, not much traffic at all, mid-day). The thing is, Dec. 7 he turned 99! Oh well, his hearing is poor, but his health is okay, his mind is sharper than mine at 39, and I know he rarely drives, cause his Aspen only has 36,000 miles on it and he bought it new. He also knows his limitations, I guess.

 

About 1 month ago my 82 year old father-in-law got a letter from the local ford dealer that said they were looking for 1995 f150 trucks and if he would come on down to the dealership they would set him in a new 2005 f150.

He's been having memory lapses lately. He's never been the best driver, going the wrong way down one-way streets, drifting into other lanes, etc. He drove his old beat up truck to the dealership and, sure enough, they sold him a brand new truck.

A couple of weeks ago, he drifted lanes and was clipped and ended up in the guardrail. The truck was still drivable but dented. Yesterday, he went back to the dealership and traded for another new truck. His payment went up about $100. We don't know what to do with him.